Newly elected Black and Latino officials take office in Utah, representing historic firsts

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Two Black and two Latino leaders took office in Utah this week, marking historic firsts.
Rod Hall is the first Black person elected to the Utah Board of Education, and Natalie Pinkney is the first Black woman elected to the Salt Lake County Council.
Carlos Moreno and Ross Romero are the first Latino members on the Salt Lake County Council, according to Carlos Moreno.

SALT LAKE CITY — Two Black leaders and two Latino leaders took office this week, representing historic firsts.

Rod Hall, a Republican from Syracuse, was inaugurated Thursday to the District 3 post on the Utah State Board of Education, making him the first-ever elected Black representative on the body. Natalie Pinkney, a Democrat from South Salt Lake, was inaugurated Monday to the Salt Lake County Council, making her the first-ever Black woman on the body, though a Black man was elected to the body previously.

"It's great. It's more than good," said Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake City Branch of the NAACP. "It's important to the Black community because we pay taxes here, we work here ... and we should have a seat at the table."

Along with Pinkney, two Latino men were inaugurated to posts on the Salt Lake County Council on Monday, the first-ever Latinos on the body, according to one of them, Carlos Moreno. Utah is home to more and more Latinos, said Moreno, a Republican, and it's important for members of the community to step forward "and have a voice in politics."

Ross Romero, Latino and a Democrat, also won election to the County Council and was sworn in at Monday's ceremony.

Rod Hall, left, at his inauguration to a post on the Utah Board of Education in Salt Lake City on Thursday. He's with Pastor Chuck Beickel of Faith Baptist Church in Layton, where Hall serves as student ministries pastor. (Photo: Jamie Renda)

Black people are underrepresented among Utah's elected officials "all the way around," Williams said. But seeing someone in a political post they can identify with, at least on a racial level, can encourage members of the community to get involved in public affairs. Aside from Hall and Pinkney, District 21 Utah Rep. Sandra Hollins, who is also Black, was reelected to her legislative seat last November.

Hall was in a Utah Board of Education meeting much of Thursday and didn't immediately respond to a query seeking comment. But while downplaying the import of his race in his election to the District 3 seat in previous comments to KSL.com, he said he thinks he could serve as an inspiration to other racial or ethnic minorities.

"It's great to see people of color in positions of leadership just to show other people of color that that doesn't have to be something that holds you back," he told KSL.com in November.

Another Black man served on the State School Board from 2019 to 2021, Shawn Newell, but he was a gubernatorial appointee and didn't win election to the spot.

Pinkney also didn't immediately respond to a query on Thursday seeking comment. In her inaugural comments Monday, though, she stressed the importance of serving all. While she's the first Black woman elected to the Salt Lake County Council, Winston Wilkinson — a Black man and a Republican — won a seat on the body in the 2000 elections, making him the first Black person to serve on the body.

"I'm committed to be your voice, to be your ears," Pinkney said. "I'm not afraid to stand up and to speak up for what is right, to make sure that our government has transparency and accountability, and to make sure — no matter where you live, the color of your skin, what you believe — that you will have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

At least three other Black people serve in elected positions around Utah — Bettina Smith Edmondson on the Layton City Council, Karece Thompson on the Clearfield City Council, and Nick Mitchell on the South Salt Lake City Council. They weren't on last November's ballot.

'Join the political debate'

Aside from being the first of two Latinos on the Salt Lake County Council, Moreno's election represents another first, he said — the first time voters picked a naturalized U.S. citizen to serve in any office in Utah ever. He's originally from Venezuela and fled the socialist regime there to the United States and now is a citizen here. Hoang Nguyen, a naturalized U.S. citizen as well, was also elected to office last November to a seat in the Utah House.

In his comments Monday, Moreno called on the Latino community to take a more active role in civic affairs. "We have beautiful families; we have prosperous businesses, but now is the time to participate politically, be more involved in what's happening in our communities. Today, more than ever, the country needs your help, and I ask Latinos in Salt Lake County to join the political debate and participate in elections more frequently," he said.

Last November's voting also resulted in the election of three Pacific Islanders to the Utah House. Verona Mauga, a Democrat, won election to the District 31 post; Jake Fitisemanu, also a Democrat, won election to the District 30 spot; and Doug Fiefia, a Republican, won election to the District 48 seat. Nguyen, a Democrat originally from Vietnam, won election to the District 23 House post.

These newly elected state lawmakers will be sworn into office later this month, ahead of the Jan. 21 launch of the 2025 Utah Legislative session.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.